


Meeting in Maine, Again

by Nocticola



Category: Angel: the Series, Haven (TV)
Genre: Crossover, Established Relationship, F/M, Finnish American Nathan Wuornos, My 70th fic!, Post-Canon, Post-Troubles (Haven)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-13
Updated: 2019-02-02
Packaged: 2019-03-04 10:10:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13362408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nocticola/pseuds/Nocticola
Summary: Chapter 1: Angel and Cordelia in HavenChapter 2: Nathan hears that Angel is in Haven; a day in the life of Nathan, Paige and James.Chapter 3: Angel and Cordelia have dinner with Nathan and Paige, James is there too.





	1. Angel and Cordelia in Haven

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [A Meeting in Maine](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11693853) by [Nocticola](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nocticola/pseuds/Nocticola). 



Angel has once again made his way to Maine. This time he's driving up the coast with Cordelia, who is making her too rare visits back down to Earth.

"Why are we here, again? I mean, the place is beautiful, but this is not exactly the type of romantic getaway I'd choose."  
Angel smiles. "I made a friend from here a few years ago. Well, not *here*, but in Maine. I wanna see if he made it. Also, this town ? Superweird. Lots of weird stuff happening. At least, until recently."  


"So, is this some kind of case thing? Because I am a very busy higher power, I don't do these cases anymore. We're supposed to be vacationing. And where and how did you meet this person? Because, your friend-making skills leave something to be desired." 

"It was at a motel bar." Cordelia makes a 'uuuh' sound and wiggles her eyebrows suggestively. Angel laughs. "Oh, please. He's as terrible at flirting as I am. Maybe even worse."

"So, there was flirting?" Cordelia asks teasingly. 

"Not really." 

"I can buy that. I still remember D'Oblique. You have the type of look, that people just assume you're flirting, even when you are just trying to figure out if demons want to eat them. 

"I..I-I'm not that bad." Cordelia just gives him a look that says 'yes, you are'. "I mean, OK, that's what kinda happened. There was something off about him, I tried to figure out what it is, then he complimented me but said he's not doing that. I actually met him when he was getting beat up for money."

"What nice friends you have you. Can't wait to meet him!"

"Lay off the sarcasm, Cordelia. He was messed up. He had fucked up and trying to deal with that. But I think he might be better now, considering this town's condition. Besides, as far as vacationing, this place is so north it's a lot easier for me to move around. Darkness lasts longer." 

"Fine. I'll meet your friend. How did you end up in California in the first place, then?" 

"I like the idea of the sun." 

"Babe, you have issues. 

"You've always known that." 

"True."

The arrive in Haven, and after some searching find their way to their B&B. Even though it's still afternoon, it's already dark enough for Angel, so they decide to start walking around town. It really is quite pretty, although when you've dealt with a couple of apocalypses yourself, you can see the hints of rebuilding around town.

"Ah, the police station!" Angel says, a bit too loudly and enthusiastically.

"Yes, a lot of town's have those. Is this about your friend? Is he a cop?" 

"He didn't say, but he had that cop legacy stuff hanging all over him. Kinda like Kate." 

"Lots of daddy issues, got it. Do you even know his last name?" 

"...No. But he's a small town legacy cop, I'm sure I'll find him." 

"Couldn't that wait a bit? Some of us still need to eat. The brochure recommended a couple of restaurants. Hopefully that means they're actually functioning. We could look for your buddy tomorrow. There's no rush, is there?"

Cordelia gives him her most charming smile, and Angel can't help but smile back. "Sure. Let's go eat."

They find a seaside restaurant The Grey Gull. It looks like it has suffered a lot recently, but it's open and the view is amazing. After they've gotten their food, which is delicious, Cordelia is a bit less grumpy and her curiosity starts to awaken.

"So, this has been a nice evening. And I can totally see the whole post-apocalypse type thing going on here. What did your friend tell you about what was going on?" 

"So, he called them The Troubles. People getting supernatural abilities, from what I gathered from him and some research, they weren't very nice ones. Nathan's was that he couldn't feel anything physically. They were cyclical things, although I don't remember hearing about them when I've been in Maine. But it sounded interesting and I wanna know more about this. It might be useful. They were or are probably not just local. He said they had wendigos, so there's probably lots of mythology overlap. Would be cool to know more."

Cordelia smirks at Angel. "Angel, are you a secret nerd?" 

"Kinda. Why do you think I read all the time and know all those languages?" 

"One, because you're old, so you had time. Two, reading let you hide your brooding sometimes." Her words might sound harsh but they are said with love. Angel leans over the table to kiss her. 

"I've missed you so much."

"You don't have to miss me for a while," Cordy's voice is low and husky. 

"Let's go back to our room. I can nerd out tomorrow."

"I look forward to both things. You know you're my favorite dork."

"You're my favorite everything." 

"You're so corny." It's Cordy's turn to pull Angel into a kiss. 

They leave the restaurant and walk hand in hand back to their B&B. 

Little do they know that their conversation at the Grey Gull was not completely private.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soon, Angel and Cordelia meet Nathan and Paige.


	2. Nathan and Paige meet Angel and Cordelia

It's not actually that late when Nathan gets the call but he and Paige are already sleeping anyway. Nathan groggily answers the call without checking the caller. He can feel Paige wake up behind his back, worrying whether Nathan is needed at the station.

"Wuornos," Nathan answers while rubbing at his eyes. 

"Nathan, it's Gloria. Were you already sleeping?" 

"Long day. What's up?" 

"A couple came to the Gull today. Nora was serving them and heard them talk about The Troubles." 

Nathan feels his body turn cold and he sits up, trying to keep his panic at bay, "What?" 

"According to Nora, it sounded like they knew what they were. They also mentioned you." 

"Me?" Nathan's still sleepy brain is trying to make sense of that. Then it hits him. "What did he look like?"

"Let's see what Nora wrote down. 'Dark, spikey hair, mid/late 20s, picky eater'. Not sure about that last bit." 

"I do. He's a vampire." 

"A what? We never had any of those." 

"No, he's an actual vampire. His name is Angel. I met him post-Barn. I told him about the Troubles." 

"Nathan, you shouldn't have." There is disapproval in Gloria's voice that reminds Nathan of being a curious 10 year old hanging out at the morgue. He buries his hand in his hair and sighs. 

"I know. But he was supernatural, too, and I didn't think there would be harm. I didn't think, period. Do you know where they are staying?" 

"Where else but _Over the Way_? They might come back here, the woman liked the food and they argued about the tip before they left. I'll be at the restaurant tomorrow and will give you are call if they show up." 

"Thanks." 

"So... You know a vampire?" is the only thing Paige asks at first. With everything she now knows of herself, she takes these things in stride but it's still a bit weird. 

Nathan lays back on the bed and turns around to look at Paige. 

"Yeah. When you were in the Barn, I was run out of Haven. I still stayed in Maine and one night this guy realized there was something off about me so I told him. He told me he's a vampire and proved it too. Maybe I said something to him about meeting again but I don't remember." 

"So, we're eating at the Gull tomorrow?"

"Yeah." 

"Good, neither one of us has to cook, then." 

Nathan smiles at Paige, kisses her nose and cuddles against her as they both fall asleep again. 

*** 

The next day is mostly uneventful and Nathan doesn't hear from Gloria about Angel and woman he's with, and he doesn't feel like it's a big enough issue to actually go to _Over the Way_ and ask about them. He does occasionally fall in to thoughts throughout the day, wondering why Angel is here and how he thought to find Nathan. He also knows that Angel won't be out and open until daylight is gone so he should just stop worrying about this. The Troubles are gone. There's no proof of them left, so it's not like anything awful will come of this. Angel has his own secrets to keep. 

When Nathan goes home at 5pm, it's already dark but there's been no developments. Nathan briefly wonders about what he'd do if he had to stay inside all day until it's dark. His Trouble was limiting in a lot of ways, but he managed to function almost normally with it.

When he gets home, he finds James dressed up as a tiny Dracula. He runs into his father's arms excitedly and Nathan first feigns terror before James takes off his fake teeth and Nathan picks James up before giving him a kiss. "I love you." He tells James that every day and he will continue doing that until his last day on Earth. 

Around 6pm, they decide it's dinner time and even though they still haven't heard about Angel, this was their plan and they'll stick with it.

During dinner Nathan constantly keeps an eye on the crowd, trying to spot Angel. But that doesn't mean he's bad company, because he still listens to Paige tell about her day (she's teaching 8th graders right now) and Nathan talks a bit about his meeting with Angel. A very edited version because James is with them. Although luckily James is more interested in his food than on his parents. 

After James is close to falling asleep, they decide it's time to go home. The Gull's upstairs was destroyed and hasn't been rebuild into an apartment yet which Nathan is kinda sad about. It would have been nice to stay there after dinner but instead they need to drive home. 

Nathan is carrying a sleeping James in his arms, walking to his car with Paige by his side when he hears someone call his name. He looks up and it's Angel, holding hands with a beautiful woman with long dark hair. 

"Angel," he says a bit too loudly for James' ears who wiggles restlessly in his arms. He kisses him at the top of the head before Paige takes him from his arms and finishes the walk to the car, leaving Nathan alone with Angel and the woman. 

"I'm Cordelia Chase. Angel is something approaching my husband," the woman says as she holds out her hand. 

"Oh, congrats." Nathan says and takes her hand. There is something different in her touch but Nathan has no idea what. He's mostly adjusted to having all of his senses again but still sometimes things affect him differently. 

"Nice to meet you Nathan. I'll go order already, and you can talk." Cordelia disappears from the parking lot into the Gull and then it's just Nathan and Angel. 

There is a short silence before neither one of them speaks. 

"So, you came to Haven to meet me? I didn't think you actually would. That's cool." 

"Yeah, I really wanted to find out more about this place. It seemed interesting. Like maybe there's a Hellmouth or something here."

Nathan just raises his eyebrow in confusion and then continues, "I need to take my family home now. But it would be nice to catch up with you, or something. We could have dinner tomorrow, at my house?" 

"I'm sure Cordelia would love that." 

"Good. I can pick you up from your b&b at 5pm. It's plenty dark by then." 

"Sounds good." 

Nathan smiles a bit before leaving for his car. James is totally asleep but Paige is waiting with a curious look. 

"Angel and Cordelia are having dinner with us tomorrow." 

"Good idea. But what does a vampire eat?" 

Nathan thinks about it for a bit and then says, "I think I have something."


	3. Dinner (Shanshu)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angel & Cordelia have dinner with Nathan, Paige and James.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These foods are real foods. I haven't eaten blood 'pancakes' (not the right words but I'm not sure what's a better translation for 'lettu') in years, but they are not actually as horrifying as one might think. And spinach pancakes are really good.

Nathan actually got off work in time that day, which is good because he was trying a whole new thing, cooking wise. He’s making pancakes, but instead of them being nice and sweet and eaten with maple syrup, they are made from blood and spinach. Nathan is not quite sure which sounds weirder (ok, it’s the blood version), but he found out about them by reading some Finnish cookbook. Both will be eaten lingonberry jam. He is a little surprised that he managed to find the relevant ingredients in Haven, but apparently there’s been enough Finnish and Scandinavian Americans, like the Wuornoses and Hansens, here or nearby for it to make sense. 

The _’verilettus’_ do look rather odd, and he’s not quite ready to taste them himself, but hopefully Angel will at least appreciate the effort. The _’pinaattilettus’_ however, taste quite good and Nathan thinks they will make a good addition to his cooking repertoire. 

Once it gets dark and the evening sets in, Nathan drives to _Over the Way_ to pick up Angel and Cordelia. Nathan was a bit worried about the drive and whether they’d have to make weird small talk, but Angel and Cordelia end up talking amongst themselves and Nathan is essentially just a driver. It works out fine for him. 

”Wow, it’s yellow,” are the first words out of Cordelia’s mouth when they arrive at Nathan’s. 

Nathan’s laugh is a bit awkward, “Oh, yeah. My Mom liked yellow. It’s my childhood home, and I moved back after my Dad died. I quite like it.” 

”It’s… interesting,” Angel says. 

Nathan shrugs and smiles, “It’s home.” 

*** 

Angel has felt a bit weird all day. Suddenly, it feels really silly to come to a small town like this, just to meet a guy he ran into in a bar years ago. And spending Cordelia’s vacation from the Higher Plane like this, when they could be somewhere more… well, more *something*, instead of cuddling on a bed & breakfast bed. But Cordelia is surprisingly taken with the place. 

”I reminds me a lot of Sunnydale. If Sunnydale was cold, and on the East Coast. But the people and the atmosphere are very similar. Almost feels like home.” 

”Home that you couldn’t wait to get out of, and you never went back there after you did,” Angel points out. 

”Whatever. Being a Higher Power lets me control my body temperature, so the coldness doesn’t even bother me. It’s a nice place.” Cordelia shows off that power, by taking Angel hand and warming both herself and him. It feels great. “The subtext is, I’m not sorry you brought me here, you dork.” 

Angel smiles and kisses Cordelia, “What did I do to deserve you?” 

”We don’t have time to go through the list, buddy. Your friend is picking us up soon.” 

Angel looks up the wall clock. She’s right. “I know the idea was that we’d have dinner, but should I take a thermos of blood with me, just in case?” 

”Are you hungry?” 

”A bit. But I might be able to wait until we’re back here, in case.” 

”It’s just like a diet thing. You’ll take some blood with you, and you can excuse yourself to have some when you get too hungry. They will understand.” 

”Good idea,” Angel kisses Cordelia’s cheek before he gets up to do just that. 

Soon enough, Nathan arrives. Angel isn’t used to not driving, so he just talks with Cordelia a bit during the not that long drive, while checking out the scenery. It seems a bit familiar. 

After Nathan and Cordelia discuss the yellow house, Angel decides to bring up his own thoughts as Nathan opens the door. 

”You know, walking and driving around town, I think I was here, in 1943. I escaped the war effort to Maine's cost.” 

”You fought in WW2?” Nathan asks curiously. 

”Yeah. Just this one thing though. Wars aren’t really good places for vampires.” 

Nathan nods, and says almost to himself, “That was outside the cycle,” before he opens the door.

The scents coming from the kitchen are surprisingly strong. Angel is confused to actually smell blood. What does that mean? 

”Hi, we didn’t really get to meet last night. I’m Paige, Nathan’s wife. And this is James,” the woman who was with Nathan the night before greets them. The little boy is about two years old, very cute, and Angel is briefly hit with the pain of not getting to see Connor at this age. But it’s a pain he’s used to living with and he smiles when he shakes James’ hand. 

”Nice to meet you, James.” James is a brave little boy, who keeps eye contact with Angel without a flinching. Sometimes little kids, like some pets, can sense that Angel’s not right. 

Then Angel looks at James’ mother, Paige. While Angel saw her briefly the night before, he didn’t pay a lot of attention to her. But now, Angel's artist brain recognizes Paige instantly as the woman in the picture Nathan was holding at the bar, although her hair is a different color. He wonders about that for only a moment. Must be one of Haven's many secrets. 

"I'm Angel, and this Cordelia."

"Nice to meet you both," Paige says, "Please, sit down on the couch, and I will bring you something to drink. Nathan will finish prepping dinner." 

Cordelia does sit down but Angel is interested in Nathan's house. Checking out the bookshelf, watching out for James' toys. It's a nice little house. 

While Nathan heats something in the kitchen, Paige comes with the drinks and sits down. James has already eaten and went to play in his own room.

Paige and Cordy end up talking about kids for a moment before dinner is ready. 

They all sit around a small table and then Nathan puts the food on the table. Angel's food is dark red and round, which oddly does smell delicious to him. The others are eating something green. 

"Those are blood pancakes," Nathan says pointing at Angel's plate. "We're eating spinach pancakes, and there's some jam that should go well with both of them." 

"Blood pancakes?" Angel asks, feeling interested and touched but also kinda horrified. "I'm surprised you didn't ever think to make me these," he then says to Cordy who gives him a smile that is both sarcastic and affectionate. 

"These are Finnish recipes. It's where my family is from, and they are a bit weird. I haven't cooked them before but I hope they came out alright."

"I really appreciate the gesture," Angel says sincerely and takes a bite. It's a bit weird, it's been so long since he's eaten anything solid (when they eat out, he usually orders what Cordy wants but won't order for herself). It ends up being surprisingly good. 

"Wow. That's really good, actually." 

"I like mine too," Cordy adds. 

Nathan smiles a bit awkwardly, "Thanks." 

"He's a really good cook. It's nice to have someone to share these responsibilities with," Paige says as she squeezes Nathan's hand gently. 

"So, where are you two from and how did you two meet?" Paige asks to turn the discussion away from food. 

"I'm Irish, but I've been in America since 1902."

"I'm from Sunnydale, California." 

Nathan perks up at the town name, "Isn't that--" 

"Yes, it was swallowed by an 'earthquake' in 2003. In reality, it had a Hellmouth, and it was destroyed in some big epic fight while I was in a coma in LA." 

"Wow. What's a Hellmouth?" Paige enquires. 

"It's something that attracts demons and such and I guess you can find a way into hell through, I was never really a good listener when it came to the whole mythology aspect. But that's were I grew up. Angel came there later, following his crush but when that crashed and burned, we both ended up in LA and first we became close friends and then something different. Something great." It's Cordy's turn to squeeze Angel's hand. 

"That's pretty much how it went. Except I was trying to help people when I came to Sunnydale, not just following a crush," Angel tries to defend himself. 

"I know, I'm just teasing you," Cordy says while patting his hand.

"So, what's the story with the Troubles?" Cordy continues when the table gets quiet again.

Nathan and Paige exchange a glance that is familiar, the type you share when your connection is beyond words and you just have to make sure you are on the same page with the other. "

Paige used to be Mara, and she created the Troubles with her boyfriend William about 500 years ago," Nathan starts. "She's from another dimension, came here, to Haven, through thinnies." It's not the weirdest thing Angel and Cordy have heard, so they just listen. 

Paige’s voice is slightly disconnected, like this a story she knows, but she doesn’t quite connect with, “My mother tried fix Mara, save her from her losses and her pain. She had a warped way of doing it, by devising a ‘Barn’ that would take the Troubles away every 27 years, with Mara coming back over and over during the last year or so of the cycle, to help the people she hurt all those years ago. To understand what she did wrong. Ultimately, it didn’t really help. Mara was left so broken by getting a new person’s memory and having to lose it over and over again, having to sacrifice herself… she briefly got control of me again at one point, and her mother finally realized what her effort to fix her had done, that the original Mara was gone. There was just… Audrey Parker. The woman who was the combination of all those cycles. They tried to fix everyone once and for all, but it required a sacrifice.” 

Paige quiets, and Angel notices that Nathan is rubbing her back comfortingly. Paige smiles at him appreciatively, but it’s clear that the story is hard for her. 

”Anyway. Audrey had to finish what Mara started all those centuries ago. She fixed everything, but she couldn’t stay. But she got a final chance to come back, live her life. As me.” 

”Now she’s a normal girl. And Haven is, almost, a normal town.” 

”A lot of it’s because of this guy here. He always made me real,” 

Angel can’t help but think about his own situation a bit. He’s nearing 300 years since his birth in Galway. He did a lot of bad things as Angelus, some other awful things as Angel, but he’s trying to make up for it all. At one point he had a goal, a prize he kinda fought for. 

"Shanshu," he whispers almost to himself, but Cordy hears it (of course). Nathan and Paige are still concentrating on each other and don’t hear it. 

”Redemption is tough,” is all Angel ends up saying. 

He and Paige share a look that tells Angel that Paige knows what he means. Nathan still has some of that look too, but Angel is glad to see that they have managed to build this life together despite everything they must have gone through. 

Shanshu is not something Angel thrives for anymore. He signed it away, and besides he’s pretty sure he can never quite pay the price for all the pain he’s caused. But he has a good life, as good as he can expect. He has a relationship with Connor, Cordelia visits him as often as she can. He has Gunn and Anne and some new friends. It’s more than he deserves, but he’ll take it. 

While the night has occasionally been a bit awkward, it has mostly been nice, and as Nathan drives Angel and Cordy back to _Over the Way_ , they exchange phone numbers and recipes, and while Angel and Cordy decide to leave the next day, it has been a nice visit, and they will probably become real friends. You can never have enough of those.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Initially I of course wrote Meeting in Maine bcus Nathan and Angel are very similar characters and I wanted them to meet, and then I got inspired to write more hence this fic. But at some point when planning this chapter, I realized that Mara/Audrey/Paige story has similarities with Angel(us)'s story and his hope for Shanshu. I thought that was neat and I hope I did that idea justice.


End file.
